Recap / Smallville S 03 E 22 Covenant

Originally aired May 19, 2004

Teleplay by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar

Story by Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer

Directed by Greg Beeman

A girl named "Kara" comes to the Kent Farm, claiming to be from Krypton and that she's come to take Clark home; she also reveals Jonathan and Jor-El's pact. Lionel faces jail time for his crimes. Lana prepares to leave for Paris. Clark makes a discovery that leads him to make a shocking decision about his friendship with Lex.

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Tropes present in the episode:

• Adam and Eve Plot: Kara states to Clark that it's their duty as the last surviving Kryptonians to re-populate their long-dead race.
  Kara: What you share with Lana is an earthly love filled with doubts, and pain, and sorrow. The love between us will be stronger than anything you can imagine. You and I are the only ones left, Kal-El. We're the only ones who can preserve the Kryptonian race.
• The Ageless: After finding out that "Kara" is actually a teenage girl who was arrested for shoplifting fourteen years earlier, Clark notes she hasn't aged a day.
• Anti-Villain: Kara is a Type IV. She's being brainwashed by Jor-El to be his pawn to draw Clark into his grasp.
• Asshole Victim: Agent Loder is a real nasty piece of work. While the Kents are horrified to see Kara casually murder him it's unlikely that the audience will be.
• Bookends: The episode starts with a naked Kara and ends with a naked Clark.
• Brainwashed: "Kara" is revealed to be Lindsay Harrison, a teenage girl that Jor-El abducted and brainwashed into thinking she's a Kryptonian.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Martha does this to Jonathan after she finds out that Jonathan agreed to return Clark to Jor-El when the time came in exchange for Jor-El giving him temporary Kryptonian powers so he could bring Clark back home.
  Martha: What have you invited into our lives?
  Jonathan: Martha, I don't believe I had another choice.
  Martha: How could you have made that decision without talking to me?!
  Jonathan: It was the only way that I could get him back!
  Martha: Why would you keep it a secret?
  Jonathan: I didn't want you to have to wait for the rest of your life worrying about something that might never happen.
  Martha: Do you really think Jor-El will ever give up on Clark?
  Jonathan: I can't sit idly by while he takes our son.
  Martha: We might not have a choice. That girl is more powerful than Clark.
• Cliffhanger: Season 3 ends with Chloe and her father apparently caught in an explosion while in Witness Protection, Lana leaving for Paris, Lex writhing on the floor in pain after drinking poisoned brandy, Lionel getting his head shaved in prison, Martha watching a Kryptonian symbol being burned in the Kents' field, Jonathan laying unconscious in the Kawatche Caves, and Clark being held captive by Jor-El.
• Deal with the Devil: It's revealed that Jor-El gave Jonathan temporary Kryptonian abilities on the condition that Jonathan would return Clark to him when the time came.
  Kara: [to Jonathan] You broke the covenant. Jor-El gave you many warnings, but you chose not to listen to them.
  Martha: What is she talking about, Jonathan?
  Kara: Tell Kal-El what you did.
  Clark: What kind of deal did you make, Dad?
  Jonathan: I promised Jor-El that if he gave me the power to bring you back from Metropolis that, one day, I'd return you to him.
  Martha: Jonathan, you didn't do that.
  Jonathan: I had no idea it was gonna be this soon.
  Martha: No.
  Kara: I told you, Kal-El. They'll always betray you, even the man you call your father.
• Death by Secret Identity: Agent Loder is killed by Kara just moments after finding out Clark's secret.
• The Dog Bites Back:
  • This exchange:
    Lex: Orange is a good color for you, Dad, although it might get a little old after twenty-five to life.
    Lionel: I didn't ask you here to trade insults. No matter how wide the chasm gets between us, son, I'm your father. I'll always be your father.
    Lex: And the devil that's haunted me since the day I was born.
  • And even after finding out that his father has a terminal disease, Lex remains unsympathetic and forges ahead with having Lionel tried for murder.
    Chloe: Lex, I understand if you want to back out. He needs to be punished for what he did, but he's still your father and he's dying.
    Lex: Yeah, and he's gonna draw his last breath in prison, not the VIP suite at Metropolis General.
• Fanservice:
  • The episode starts with Kara making her way to the Kent's farm naked.
  • The final shot of the episode shows Clark floating naked in a fetal position inside an energy bubble.
• Fetal Position Rebirth: The episode, and Season 3, ends with a shot of Clark in this state as he floats in a void while Jor-El declares he will be "reborn."
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: Kara seems completely unfazed by her nudity.
• Killed Off for Real: Agent Loder and Kara.
• Kissing Cousins: Averted with Clark and Kara as she's not really his cousin.
• Ms. Fanservice: Kara. She first appears completely nude (sorry, guys, nothing explicit is seen), then spends the rest of the episode wearing a sheer white number and no shoes.
• Naked First Impression: Clark first meets Kara when she shows up completely naked at his doorstep.
• Naked on Arrival: Kara, during the intro.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: Destructive blasts of Pure Energy aren't part of a normal Kryptonian power set, and it's not made especially clear why Jor -El gave the fake Kara a different set of powers.
• Sadistic Choice: In the final act, Jor-El forces Clark to choose between defying him yet again or letting Jonathan die.
  Jor-El: [Kara] served her purpose, as has Jonathan Kent. [starts to strangle Jonathan with a whip of energy]
  Clark: Dad! [to Jor-El] Leave my father alone!
  Jor-El: Come forward, or he will die.
• Season Finale: The show's third.
• Sexy Shirt Switch: Sort of. Kara first appears nude in the teaser, then she's next seen wearing one of Clark's flannel shirts before donning a flimsy white dress for the rest of the episode.
• Shoulders-Up Nudity: How Kara's nudity is shown during the intro.
• Superdickery: You can add brainwashing a teenage girl and threatening to kill a man to Jor-El's list of misdeeds.
• Take Me Instead: A variation. While being strangled by Jor-El, Jonathan pretty much tells Clark he's willing to die so Clark can be free. Clark, instead, chooses to surrender to Jor-El.
  Jonathan: I've lived a full life, son! Jor-El can do whatever he wants to me as long as you're free!
  Clark: I'll never be free! [gets absorbed into the portal]
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Jor-El's response after he vaporizes Kara/Lindsay and right before he begins strangling Jonathan.
  Clark: What did you do to [Kara]?!
  Jor-El: [Kara] served her purpose, as has Jonathan Kent.
• You See, I'm Dying: Lionel finally reveals to Lex that he's dying.
  Lionel: [to Lex] Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a, a degenerative liver disease. I've tried everything, everything imaginable, but there's nothing. It's too late. No amount of money can save me. Lex, please don't let me die in prison.

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